Mayor Nat Shaffer, elected to the Town Council in April of 2002, served 8 years as a councilmember prior to being appointed mayor by then Governor Nikki Haley on Feb 02, 2011. He has been re-elected every 4 years since April 2012. Mayor Shaffer graduated from Wade Hampton High School in 1991, holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Political Science with a concentration in Public Administration from Walden University, an Associate of Arts from the University of South Carolina and also attended Brigham Young University in Rexburg Idaho. He completed The Citadel undergraduate studies of appraising Real Estate and The South Eastern School of Auctioneering. Additionally, he has completed The SC Advanced Institute of Elected Officials and The South Carolina Economic Development Institute.
Mayor Shaffer has a very broad and diverse entrepreneurial background with experience in Real Estate, banking and retail industries. He has been self-employed the majority of his professional career, is a Real Estate appraiser by trade and has been a Real Estate practitioner since 1998.
Mayor Shaffer has served in a host of civic, charitable and fraternal originations. He is a board member and past chairman of the Lowcounrty Council of Governments, A board commissioner for the Lowcountry Regional Water Systems and serves on the Coastal Empire Mental Health Board. A former Rotarian, a Mason and Shriner. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and also attends the Varnville First Baptist Church with his family.
Mayor Shaffer was born and raised in Varnville. He is married to Becky Bates Shaffer, Special Education Coordinator at Lowcountry Montessori School in Port Royal, SC. They have 3 children; Parker, Banks and Elizabeth Nell. In their spare time, they enjoy traveling in their RV motor coach, and during the summer months, they camp at Hunting Island State Park and serve as volunteer host for the state park system.